The Mobilization of the Wisconsin National
Guard
During World War I

All links on this page are internal to the B
Trp., 1-105th Cav. web site, unless otherwise noted.

On 26 March 1917 the 3rd Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was
ordered
to return to Federal service by the War Department. It guarded
factories,
bridges and similar sites throughout the State that the War Dept. felt
could be suceptable to foriegn sabatours. The 3rd Wisconsin had only
recently
been mustered out of Federal service on 14 Dec. 1916, after its service
during the Mexican Border Crisis.

When the United States declared war on Germany on 6 April 1917,
the Wisconsin National Guard was organized almost exactly as it had
been
during the Mexican Border Crisis. However, the WNG would more than
double
in size between the time that war was declared and the WNG was
activated
into Federal service. In April the WNG consisted of 1 brigade of
infantry
(3 regiments), 2 troops of cavalry, 1 battalion of artillery (3
batteries)
and 1 hospital company. By July a 2nd brigade of infantry (3
regiments),
10 more troops of cavalry, another battalion of artillery (3
batteries),
an engineer battalion, a signal battalion, another hospital company and
2 ambulance companies had all been organized and recruited (the
majority
at or near full strength).

On 5 June 1917 all men of draft age
were
required to register.

On 19 June the first Wisconsin
National
Guard units were activated (by State Adjutant General Holway) at their
armories. The First Wisconsin Regiment of Field Artillery, with units
in
Milwaukee, Racine and Green Bay, and a medical detachment, were ordered
to mobilize at Camp Douglas, Wis. on 2 July. Most of these
units
arrived on 2 July, the medical contingent and Batteries E and D of
Milwaukee
arrived on 3 July.

On 9 July 1917 Field Hospital Co. #1,
from
Milwaukee, arrived at Camp Douglas. The next unit planned for movement
to Camp Douglas was the Signal Battalion, followed by the Cavalry
Regiment,
and then the Infantry Regiments, the Engineer Battalion and the rest of
the medical units would fall in somewhere in between.

On 9 July it was announced that the
Wisconsin
State Guard would be created; to take the place of the Wisconsin
National
Guard when it left the State.

On 15 July the Wisconsin National
Guard
was ordered into Federal Service by President Wilson.

The National Guards of the following
states were also Federalized on 15 July: New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio,
West Virginia, Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota
and
Nebraska. On 25 July, the National Guards from Maine, New Hampshire,
Vermont,
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware,
Maryland,
District of Columbia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina,
Tennessee,
Illinois, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Washington and Oregon were ordered
into
Federal Service. I am not sure when the remaining states were ordered
in.

The First Wisconsin Cavalry Regiment arrived at
Camp Douglas on either 15 or 23 July.

On 17 July the War Department announced
that
the Wisconsin and Michigan National Guards would be moved to Camp
MacArthur,
Waco, Texas, after they were mobilized.

The camp was named in honor of
Lieutenant
General Arthur MacArthur. He had entered the Army from Milwaukee and
was
awarded the Medal of Honor while serving as a lieutenant with the 24th
Wisconsin Infantry during the Civil War. He stayed in the Army after
the
war and also served with distinction during the Spanish-American War.
At
the time of his death in Milwaukee a few years prior to 1917, he was
the
highest ranking officer in the U.S. Army. At the time of this
announcement,
his son, Major Douglas MacArthur, was a member of the general staff of
the Army.

On or about 20 July, Congress gave the
soldiers
a pay raise. "The pay of the guardsmen has been fixed as follows:
Private,
$30 per month; first class private, $33 per month; corporal, $36;
sergeant,
$38; first sergeant, $51; second lieutenant, $150; first lieutenant,
$167;
captain, $200. The men are allowed 75 cents a day for subsistence."

On 20 July the the first numbers for
the
Draft were drawn. The first men drafted would not report to their
respective
Army camps until about 5 Sept.

On 31 July the first notices to appear
for draft board examinations were sent to the men selected on 20 July.
The draft board would determine which men would be exempted from the
draft.

On 5 Aug. 1917, by proclamation of
President
Wilson, every soldier in the National Guard, of every state, was
essentially
discharged from the National Guard of his respective state and
immediately
drafted into the U.S. Army. This was done because of a constitutional
restraint
upon the use of the National Guard beyond the borders of the United
States.

On 6 Aug. there were over 10,000
Wisconsin
National Guard soldiers encamped at Camp Douglas. The Second Wisconsin
Infantry Regiment arrived on this day. Other Wisconsin National Guard
units
already there were: First and Third Regiments of Infantry; First Field
Artillery Regiment; First and Second Field Hospital Companies; First
and
Second Ambulance Companies; First Signal Battalion; First Engineer
Battalion;
First Regiment of Cavalry; Company H and Sanitary Detachment, Fourth
Infantry;
Company C and Sanitary Detachment, Fifth Infantry; and Company B and
Sanitary
Detachment, Sixth Infantry. The remainder of the 4th, 5th and 6th
Regiments
were due to arrive over the next 10 days.

On 14 Aug. the War Department
announced
that various National Guard units from 26 states and the District of
Columbia
would be combined to form the 42nd 'Rainbow' Division.

Revised information, 5 Feb. 01
- Previously it was stated that Wisconsin's contribution to the 42nd
Div.
would be Companies E (Fond du Lac), F (Oshkosh), and G (Appleton) of
the
Second Wis. Infantry Regiment; and they would form the 150th Machine
Gun
Battalion (Companies A, B and C, respectively). New information has
been
discovered that states that these three companies of the 2nd Wis. Inf.
did indeed form the 150th MG Bn., but Co. G (Appleton) became Co. A,
Co.
E (Fond du Lac) became Co. B, Co. F (Oshkosh) became Co. C.

I would like to thank Kathy Compagno for
bringing
to my attention that the original information I had posted was probably
incorrect. She was able to cite several references to support her
conclusion.
Kathy Compagno is a great-niece of Private 1st Class Joseph Lorenz, a
soldier
in old Company F (Oshkosh), 2nd Wis. Inf. who served in Company C,
150th
Machine Gun Battalion, 42nd 'Rainbow' Division in France.

The 'Rainbow' Division would be assembled at Camp
Mills, Mineola, Long Island (New York) under the command of Major
General
William A. Mann.

On 17 Aug. Washington formally announced
in
the press that the Wisconsin and Michigan National Guards would combine
to form the 32nd Division.

On 18 Aug. the advance detachment of
the
Wisconsin National Guard left Camp Douglas bound for Camp MacArthur,
Waco,
Texas. The advance detachment included Company G (Madison) and Company
A (Reedsburg) of the First Wisconsin Infantry, Company D (Mauston) of
the
Third Infantry, and Battery F (Racine) of the First Field Artillery. (A
fifth company was listed as part of the advance detachment, but it was
listed as Company A (Baraboo) also of the First Wisconsin. That cannot
be correct because there was only one Company A in each regiment and
Baraboo
was Co. I, Sixth Infantry. So it is unclear if the fifth company was
Co.
A from one of the other regiments or Co. I, Sixth Infantry).

On 18 Aug. Companies E, F and G of the
Second Wisconsin Infantry were officially detached from the 2nd
Infantry
and became the 150th Machine Gun Battalion of the 42nd Division. Each
company
had an authorized strength of a captain, two first lieutenants and
three
second lieutenants, all mounted on horses, and 172 enlisted men. The
new
Battalion was commanded by Major W. B. Hall of Oconto, formerly one of
the Battalion Commanders in the Second Wisconsin Infantry. Information
about the 150th MG Bn. beyond this date will be found at The
150th Maching Gun Battalion page of this web site.

On 22 Aug. the Sixth Wisconsin
Regiment
of Infantry completed its arrival at Camp Douglas. This completed the
mobilization
of the entire Wisconsin National Guard at Camp Douglas.

Also on 22 Aug. it was announced that
some
of Wisconsin's drafted men would go to the Army camp at Battle Creek,
Michigan
and the others would go Camp Grant at Rockford, Illinois. At that time
it was planned to send the men from Milwaukee, Racine, Brown, Calumet,
Door, Sheboygan, Waukesha, Kenosha, Manitowoc, Kewaunee and Ozaukee
counties
to the Battle Creek camp, the remainder would go to Camp Grant.

Newspaper articles from the time
suggest
that this plan was implemented at the start of the draft. At some
point,
however, this plan was modified and some Wisconsin draftees were sent
to
other
camps as well.

On 10 Sept. the remainder of the First
Wisconsin
Field Artillery Regiment left Camp Douglas for Camp MacArthur, Waco,
Texas.

On 11 Sept. the First
Wisconsin Cavalry Regiment left Camp Douglas for Camp MacArthur, Waco,
Texas.

On 18 Sept. the First Wisconsin
Brigade
HQ Co. arrived at Camp MacArthur.

What was probably the Wisconsin National Guard's
first casualty during its Federal Service occurred on 23 Sept.
when
William Williston, 23, Co. I, 2nd Wis. Inf. was killed by a train in
Mauston.
He was buried with Military Honors in Marinette on 26 Sept.

On 24 Sept. the First Wisconsin Infantry
Regiment left Camp Douglas bound for Camp MacArthur. The regiment was
carried
on five trains.

On 28 Sept. the Second Wisconsin Infantry,
Field Hosptial No. 2 and at least one of the ambulance companies
departed
for Camp MacArthur. Four trains carried the last of the Wisconsin
National
Guard to Texas via Kansas City and Omaha. They pulled out of the Camp
Douglas
railroad station at about noon. Their departure left the military
reservation
completely deserted. Here is how a witness described it, "What several
weeks ago was nothing short of a battlefield for noise and activity has
slumped back into a cross between a deserted farm pasture and a circus
ground on the 'morning after.'"

On 28 Sept. the Second Wisconsin Infantry
received orders regarding the organization of the 127th Infantry
Regiment.
According to those orders, parts of the 1st and 3rd Wis. Regiments
would
be merged into the 2nd to become the 127th. COL Lee, commander of the
2nd
Wis. Inf., would become the commander of the 127th Inf.

On 1 Oct. 1917 the Second Wisconsin Infantry,
along with Field Hosptial No. 2 and at least one of the ambulance
companies,
arrived at Camp MacArthur. There arrival meant that the entire
Wisconsin
National Guard (with the exception of the old Cos. E, F, G of the 2nd
Wis.
Inf. which were now Cos. A, B, C of the 150th MG Bn.) was now assembled
at Camp MacArthur.

The Wisconsin National Guard on
the Mexican
Border - 1916-1917Wisconsin in the World WarA Brief History of Appleton's 'Old Company G'National Guard of the United States - State
of Wisconsin,
1939Newspaper articles from The Appleton
Evening Crescent
in 1917